Posts Tagged ‘shrines and temples’
Kamakura in a Day
It was so refreshing to see the ocean again. I've missed it...
Small pond on the grounds of Hase-dera, a temple dedicated to the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Kannon (from which the Canon brand derives it's name), who is actually neither male nor female contrary to the widely held notion that Kannon is a Goddess, but does in fact represent compassion, love, and mercy.
Japanese maple leaves are gorgeous in the fall.
Figurines inside of benten-kutsu cave at Hase-dera.
Reading the wishes and prayers of visitors.
Happy smiles after seeing Kannon in Kannon-do hall.
A smaller representation of Kannon at Hase-dera.
A little friend at the site of the Great Buddha, or Daibatsu.
Daibatsu of Kamakura. This buddha used to be enclosed in a temple but it was destroyed by either very strong winds or a tsunami, and only the Daibutsu was left standing. It is MASSIVE.
Shopping on Komachi-dori. It started to rain by the time we got to the Kamakura stop on the Enoden line.
Rain and pokadots.
We took the Romance Car into Fujisawa and got on the local back to Shinjuku where we departed. We got the Enoshima-Kamakura Free Pass but the rain made it very difficult to explore Enoshima. It’s actually a much shorter trip than I had anticpated and much cheaper too. I’d like to go to Enoshima and see a beach before I leave but I may have to wait for my next journey here. I’ve got exactly seventeen days to go and it just doesn’t feel like enough time for anything.
七五三 – A Celebration of Children
Today, my younger host sister, Mayuko celebrated her shichi-go-san. Shichi-go-san, which literally means, seven, five, three is a holiday of sorts for children whose ages are seven, five, and three. Girls dress up in their first grown-up kimono and boys dress up in their hakuma. The festival itself is meant to bring longevity and good luck to the children celebrating it.
Mayuko looked like a tiny Christmas tree ^__^
Three generations
Mayuko-chan getting fixed up a bit
My host mom, Mayu-chan, great-grandmother, and Mii-chan
Little girl posing for pictures
Everyone was a photog today 
More pictures, more posing
Detail of Mayu-chan's kimono. It was gorgeous!
Piggy back ride!
Mayuko reads her fortune
